Earlier this week I saw a post from Taste Of Country, on The Best Debut Country Singles Of All Time. I wrote an article here at WQMX.com about that exact subject in 2021. Theirs was a Top 25 Countdown, where I just ran down my list in no particular order. Taste Of Country and I agree on some and not so much on others. This was my article from 2021. (No Order) If it was on Taste Of Country’s list as well from this week, I’ll mark it with a (TOC) (Videos linked in titles)
George Strait – Unwound – 1981
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Strait recorded songs for five years before this, that no one on the planet heard. But we all heard this one. Unwound went to #8 but showed us that there was a new sound coming. It got right to the point in it’s 2:23, and was so memorable that there was no way you could stop listening to it. This would be the beginning of him becoming a legend.
Clint Black – Better Man – 1989
Better Man was the kind of song that gets you noticed. It had a great message, and inner story. It was a heartfelt, and positive song about love gone wrong. At that moment too, Clint Black was the marriage of Merle Haggard and George Strait. When he arrived he was the talk of Nashville. Listeners loved this song, and instantly wanted to hear more from this young singer.
Garth Brooks – Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old) – 1989
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Garth was literally singing about the rodeo life, but what fans heard was someone who understands my life and my challenges. This is a perfectly written song about all of us was we get a bit older, live more, and accept things aren’t the same as they once were. This was the perfect way to introduce yourself to a country audience.
Mark Chesnutt – Too Cold At Home – 1990
Seldom has a debut song been as good as this one. The second I heard this song in 1990, I knew it was a gigantic hit. This is traditional country that grabbed everyone and didn’t let go. It’s tough to think of a whole lot of better debut songs than this one. I will love this song if I live to be 100, because this is about 10 great country songs rolled into one.
Doug Stone – I’d Be Better Off (In A Pine Box) 1990
Yes, it’s big time traditional as it has the twin fiddles, steel guitar, and insanely melancholy message. There are times we all like a good party song, or a good bonfire song. Then there are times that only a deep country hurtin’ song will do. This is the latter – by a mile. Extraordinarily good song.
Brooks And Dunn – Brand New Man – 1991
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I have felt for many years this may be the best debut song ever in country. Very few songs have ever said, “here we are!” better than this one. This fast moving, slick song has a great message, a fiery feel, and it zings along effortlessly for its 3:00. It grabs you right up front with its vocal opening and says what it needs to say. I can’t imagine anyone else singing this song.
Billy Ray Cyrus – Achy, Breaky Heart – 1992
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OK, I can see the eye rolls already, but this song has to be given its due, and it does have a great story. This song was offered to the Oak Ridge Boys, but the word was they didn’t like the term “Achy Breaky” for many reasons. This went #1 and broke sales records wherever it went. This was a gigantic hit, but polarizing, and was much parodied as well. But in the end, this song was done by the right guy at the right time and sold over 20 million.
Terri Clark – Better Things To Do – 1995
I always thought Terri Clark had the right idea. She came along during the Country Boom of the 1990’s as a jeans, boot and T wearing, electric guitar playing, female “Hat Act.” She was the only one. This song introduced us to a new kind of female vocalist and launched a very good career. The potential of a tremendous debut song is that is can really help define who that new artist is. This one really did.
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Is there anyone that doesn’t love this? The strength of this terrific song is its visualization. You not only can see this guy, but you know this guy, you are this guy, or you have been this guy. We all have at some time in our lives wanted this to happen to us, and in this song it does. This is about as good as written country songs get.
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This was fresh and new, and again a very visual song. It also introduced us to a new kind of act in country, which was a throwback at the same time – the straight up vocal group. This is another great example of the song being the star. It was also a very savvy move writing and recording a song about the extreme struggle to the top of the music biz, by a group trying to do just that – at that exact moment. This would define them for the length of their run.
Florida Georgia Line – Cruise – 2012
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There’s not much to say about this. It’s one of the biggest songs ever in our format, or any format. To not include it here is malpractice. That debut album was recorded with a confidence that is very rare for a new act. The entire album is great and well beyond the years of newbies. It’s one of the biggest hits of this century.
Maren Morris – My Church – 2016
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This song is so darn good, it was the perfect way to introduce her. This is many styles rolled into one big, yet little song. What this did better than most, is that it made it see she was not a new artist at all singing it. It was like she had always been here. This song really resonates with me and many.
Toby Keith – Should’ve Been A Cowboy – 1993
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This was the most played song of the 1990’s in Country. Other huge songs, from gigantic stars in Country’s biggest decade with a 4 year head start on this could not catch it. This was a perfect intro for a new artist and after all these years is still loved, still played, and still is remembered as fondly now as then. It may be played forever.
